Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: Hello - New Here! Does This Sound Like IBS??

So sorry your going through this. Your symptoms do sound like IBS but you'll need a colonoscopy to be sure. Anything over three BMs a day is considered D so you don't have to be breaking the 4 minute mile to make it to the bathroom. A lot of people find that pain is their biggest concern with IBS as well.

I totally recommend heather's diet - it really saved my life back when my IBS was bad. I still get very occasional bouts of D but I don't get the pain any more. You mentioned you cut out dairy and red meat but I was unclear if you did both at the same time. I would stop eating both and up your soluble fibre intake. Try the fiber supplement from this site as well. It's great for any one prone to gas as it doesn't contain any additives or insoluble fibre which can make things worse. Also keep your diet low fat and caffine free and steer clear of alcohol. All three are powerful GI tract stimulants and are best avoided if you have gut trouble whatever the cause.

You might want to try peppermint caps or other prescription antispasmodics drugs to help manage your pain. Peppermint tea helps and fennel is good for gas.

You need to manage your stress to get control of IBS. I do yoga and I'm about to complete the IBS hypnotherapy program. Both really help to reduce my anxiety as does taking regular daily walks.

Probiotics are a good idea but you have to be careful as many brands don't have enough bacteria to be in any way effective. VSl and Align are two probiotic products you might want to try.

Hope this helps

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Stable IBS D

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